Former Tamworth independent politician's message about stroke

By Alexandra Mitchell

Former Tamworth independent politician Peter Draper has revealed he had a stroke during his State Parliamentary campaign in March. As part of Stroke Week he wants to share his message about the need to act quickly when experiencing the signs and symptoms of stroke.

One minute Peter Draper was enjoying dinner with his wife at the Niangala Prawn and Chicken Night and the next minute he realised something was very wrong.

The former Tamworth independent politician noticed problems with his vision, his face started drooping and he became unable to speak. At the time he was in the middle of his State Parliamentary Campaign.

Within half an hour of experiencing the first symptom, Peter lost the ability to talk, walk and see. Registered nurse Marie Goodwin happened to be at the event in Niangala when Peter first experienced the stroke symptoms. Mrs Goodwin and Peter's wife, Sharon Draper, rushed to meet an awaiting ambulance in Dungowan.

"I could understand everything and couldn't respond. So, as it's Stroke Week, after a lot of soul searching I thought I'd share my story with other people in the attempt to make people aware that if you get to medical help quickly, you have a window of opportunity. The staff and the techniques they use can make a pretty scary occurrence into a pretty good outcome" says Peter.

Peter had a very speedy recovery, returning to work on the Monday after he arrived to hospital on Saturday night.

Peter's message is that "You can recover...just make sure that you do things very quickly if something happens to you".